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OUR CIVIL SOCIETY – Part II

As a matter of vogue, some speakers very often pay lip service to civil society in an abstract and undefined manner in the current decade. Their rhetoric is duly appreciated as benevolent, while at the same time this is far from being sincere. We know, civil society relies on civil law and civil law unequivocally protects civil rights. This logical necessity leaves much to be wanted in Cyprus as civil rights do not exist without their bearers.

One of the most important premises of civil law is the existence of natural or legal persons who are subjects of these rights and obligations. A reference to abstract and undefined human rights without the concrete participants of civil society is misleading.

The most recent violations of civil rights escalated in the period 1955-1975 and form the basis of continuous and unresolved disputes between the Greek and the Turkish community. These disputes have created a havoc of uncertainty undermining the security of law and of substantive justice in Cyprus. This outcome is exactly the opposite of the norms worthy of the name of civil society.

The charm of civil law lies in its perfection and orderliness as far as these have been preserved throughout the three last millennia despite the violent and severe mutations inflicted in the course of history. Ethnic Greeks honoured Goddess Athena as the giver of the goods of wisdom, intelligence and of the creative arts. She dwelled on Acropolis, because with her wisdom she founded civil society.

Many civil societies survive without paying head to a long forgotten Goddess, but it is hard to think of a civil society without civil rights. This touches the outermost point of ignorance and fallacy. Some of the most salient civil law violations in Cyprus concern the protection of personality, the autonomy of private will, the contract of compromise, life, liberty and property protected by public order rules.

Nevertheless, private will is not allowed to exclude the implementation of public order rules. Moreover, a provision of an alien public order cannot be applied when such provision contravenes domestic public order or moral norms; for more details, please see paragraph 3.2 in my digital e-book “POLITY AND CYPRUS – The Chain Store Paradox” ISBN 978-9963-9630-8-9.

In a post-crisis era such as we have witnessed and are still witnessing in the present year 2014, civil society has been drawn farther apart from our reach as more and more persons realize the grip of utter poverty and helplessness. Adverse circumstances seem to grow much faster around us than the ability of our mind to cope with.

My foresight and admonishing voice saying “DEVELOP YOUR POWER OF THOUGHT – 50 Steps for a Successful Mind Control Mindset” have been too weak to get attention by over worn and outwitted readers to whom it was addressed; for more details, please see on Amazon [dot] com, ISBN 978 9963 -9630–3–4.

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(EN) Our Civil Society

Our Civil Society begins around the year 1500 BC with the advent of the Myceneans to Cyprus. The Myceneans brought their language, customs and religion. The Achaeans followed bringing to the island their priests, oracles, gods, altars, epic poetry and city-states. Salamis, Kitium, Amathus, Akamas, Marion, Aepia, and Idalion are paid lip service in 12th century BC inscription in Egypt.

The independence of the city-states suffered its first infringement under Ptolemy with the establishment of the Koinon, the first federal system of government in Cyprus in the year 294 BC. Under the Koinon, the city-states continued to have their parliament, demos (assembly of citizens), secretary and Gymnasium Principal. The Koinonwas invested with religious duties and the jurisdiction to cut coins. This federal form of government persisted after the demise of Antony and Cleopatra in the year 31 BC when Cyprus became officially a province of the Roman Empire, initially under the Emperor and later under the Roman Senate, and lasted throughout the Principate period retaining a genuine civil form of governance and lifestyle. In the Domination era, civil society had its first setbacks undergoing a gradual conversion due to the slow but inevitable predominance of the Christian religion.

As in other parts of the Roman Empire, first during the Domination years ending in the year 565 AD, and second during the Byzantine period Cyprus enjoyed a diminished form of civil society preserved under the Theodosian and Justinian Code of Civil Law, later given the name Corpus luris Civilis. Ever since the 4th century AD Cyprus enjoined a dichotomy of powers divided into secular and temporal, the first carried out by virtue of a Civil Code.

The latest version of the Civil Code had been compiled in the 15th century AD in Six Books, by Armenopoulos, governing secular matters. Temporal matters were vested exclusively in the autocephalous church of Cyprus by virtue of the Holy Canons and its Charter for the Greeks. A second temporal power emerged in 1570 AD solemnly declared by Lala Mustafa Pasha on 15th September in Hagia Sophia establishing the Vakf Institution and Vakf Principles and Laws for the Turkish Community immediately after the sacking of Nicosia. Both Temporal powers are in force under the provisions of the 1960 Constitution.

Civil Society, however, suffered a further degradation, due to the tacit circumvention of civil rights and liberties in the mid-1950s, mid-1960s and finally in the mid-1970s being the outcome of hostilities between the two communities. Civil rights had never been taken seriously in Cyprus ever since the Principate times came to an end, and reference to them today implies merely gay rights.